Roden Nieuport 24 bis, Polish Air Force, 1919

[R Palimaka]

Sorry, late to the show. 

 

This GB is long enough that I might actually be able to finish this one...once I finish the other build on my desk (which was from another group build that I didn't finish in time)!  Although I haven't been able to complete one before a deadline, they do get me organized and at the bench to start a kit. 

 

I was going to join in with the Dora Wings Dewoitine 510 but since there was another Dewoitine here I thought it would be more interesting to add a different aircraft type to the group. I've chosen to try my hand at the Roden Nieuport 24bis, in Polish Air Force colours. This particular aircraft, No.5086, was originally in the service of the 3rd Artillery Observation Squadron of the Red Air Force . In July 1919 it was flown to Poland by Juliusz Gilewicz, a pilot of Polish nationality who was defecting from Russia. Both the aircraft and pilot then served with the Polish Air Force. 

 

The pilot, Juliusz Gilewicz, had a remarkable life that ended tragically in Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1943. He was called up by the Tsarist army in 1915 which cut short his studies in medicine and law. He trained as a pilot and joined the 3rd Squadron in the Russian Air Service. After flying 200 combat missions and being wounded twice flying for the Russians in WWI, and then the Bolsheviks after the Revolution, he then defected with this aircraft and joined the Polish Air Force in July 1919. He commanded the 5th Squadron against the Russians in the Polish-Soviet War, and took part in 40 sorties.  After the war he rose through the ranks commanding various squadrons and bases and eventually left the Air Force as a lieutenant-colonel in 1937. During the Second World War he joined the resistance and was eventually arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Auschwitz where he was shot. This is just a very distilled biography, his full story makes for remarkable reading. 

 

Richard

 

 

 

Edited April 11 by R Palimaka

[R Palimaka]

The reviews for this kit have me a little worried, but I've found a couple of builds that have dealt with the worst of the issues. At first glance the parts look sharp and cleanly molded, and the surface detail, especially the fabric effects are very convincing. We'll see how it goes.

 

 

 

 

[DugyB]

Massively cool topic and subject …. 

[Jaro]

Great topic & painting scheme! Will follow this thread carefully.

[MikeMaben]

Interesting subject Rich , will be following too.  Have fun.

[Archimedes]

Very nice choice Richard! I’ll be following this one!

 

Kind regards,

Paul

[Azgaron]

Looks nice! Good luck with the build!

 

Håkan

 

[R Palimaka]

Thank you everyone, I've never rigged a biplane so that will be a new "adventure" when I get to that.

 

I've been doing research on the markings, and the scheme on the kit decals are not correct. Actually, several kits and decal sheets have it wrong. The instructions would have you apply the "Diana" artwork on both sides, but photographs have been discovered in the Aviation Museum in Krakow showing that there was a large dragon on the port side. Several Polish modellers have come up with the proper scheme based on this photo and one from the rear showing the tail of the dragon approaching the top decking of the fuselage. Photos also show the red and white tailplanes so this should be a colourful bird. 

 

Another detail that was pointed out is that the interplane struts and landing gear struts were wrapped and doped with aluminum paint. I was hoping to have the contrast of the natural wood struts but there's that accuracy thing rearing its head.

 

The decal provided in the kit needs a bit of refining, it's pretty stark as it is. I might have to reduce it somewhat with an almost transparent layer of paint to blend in the skin tones, or refine it on the computer and reprint it. I'll also have to draw the dragon using the photo and print that as well.

 

Richard

 

Starboard side:

 

 

Photo from the Aviation Museum in Krakow. The educated guess on the other websites is that the dragon is black...

 

 

 

[MikeMaben]

Hey Rich, I tweaked the photo a little and it looks like there's some detail that's not easy to see.

Might indicate that there's more than one color.   ???

 

 

 

hth

 

 

 

Edited April 17 by MikeMaben

[R Palimaka]

5 hours ago, MikeMaben said:

Hey Rich, I tweaked the photo a little and it looks like there's some detail that's not easy to see.

Might indicate that there's more than one color.   ???

 

 

 

hth

 

 

 

 

Thanks for that Mike, it helps a lot. I've been studying the photos for longer than I'd like to admit, trying to figure out the details and eliminate some of the things that are the watermark that the Museum put on the image. As for colours, the main colour looks darker than the red in the chessboard national insignia so I'll go with the black that's been suggested by the modellers from Poland. 

 

I'll just have to photograph the finished model only from the starboard side. 

 

Richard